Empowering 0345 06 121 12 Change  · service delivery, we expect to offer more great volunteering opportunities – whether individuals are seeking personal ... experience of drug

Empowering Change0345 06 121 12

www.cais.co.ukWinter 2017 | Issue 40

CAIS aims to empower positive changes in the lives of people affected by addiction, adverse mental health, unemployment, offending and other life challenges, through a range of services and support delivered by skilled and experienced staff and volunteers.

CAIS HAS RECEIVED the Investors in Volunteers award – recognising its sector-leading work in volunteering.

Around 100 CAIS volunteers gave many thousands of hours of their own time across North Wales and Powys last year, helping with detox, rehab, recovery and community services, social enterprises and administrative functions.

The award makes CAIS one of around 80 organisations throughout Wales entitled to display the Investors in Volunteers kitemark.

Thrilled and delightedVolunteer manager Claire Jones said the whole organisation was “thrilled and delighted” at the news.

“We already know how amazing our volunteers are, and what a significant contribution they make to their communities – but this recognition helps to underline just how rewarding giving your time to help others through CAIS can be,” she said.

“Our team includes students, retirees, people who work full time, and people who have experience of using our services. What unites them all is the will and desire to make a difference.

“These dedicated volunteers can now be sure they are receiving the best possible support and backing as they give their own time to empower change in people’s lives.”

CAIS was assessed against a range of best practice criteria, and proved its competence in all aspects of volunteer management.

Chief executive Clive Wolfendale said the award was a boost for volunteers of the future.

“As we continue to expand and broaden our areas of service delivery, we expect to offer more great volunteering opportunities – whether individuals are seeking personal development, or to ‘give something back’ to the area in which they live and work,” he added.

Quality standardInvesting in Volunteers is the UK-wide quality standard for organisations involving volunteers, and is delivered in Wales by the Wales Council for Voluntary Action. The endorsement aims to improve the quality of the volunteering experience and to encourage organisations to better recognise the enormous contribution made by volunteers.

Find out more about volunteering opportunities with CAIS by visiting www.cais.co.uk/volunteer

Big tick awarded to dedicated CAIS volunteers

Day Programme Celebration Station Court

DOZENS OF PEOPLE joined the North Wales launch of the Cyfle Cymru Out of Work Service in Colwyn Bay.

The packed event, at Eirias Park, was watched by colleagues from the health, criminal justice, employment and policy sectors as well as Cyfle Cymru staff and peer mentors.

They heard how approaching 350 people in North Wales have already begun to engage with the EU-funded project since it started taking referrals from people with experience of drug and alcohol misuse and mental health issues in August 2016 – with good progress already being made against outcome targets.

AdvantagesFellow members of the DACW consortium Hafal, Kaleidoscope, WCADA and Drugaid are delivering Cyfle Cymru in the Dyfed, Gwent, Powys and Western Bay health board areas.

Programme manager and CAIS deputy chief executive Lynn Bennoch told the gathering this breadth of delivery gave the Cyfle Cymru project a number of advantages.

“This is a very bespoke service and is very specific to the needs of the individual – which I think is one of the reasons it works well,” she said.

“But it’s also a great opportunity for us to try to raise the bar of service delivery across Wales and to develop that consistency across the areas we serve.”

Cyfle Cymru provides peer mentoring, training and confidence-building life skills, helping people with a history of substance misuse and adverse mental health get into work or take steps towards employment.

The Welsh Government programme – backed by the European Social Fund, and supported local Area Planning Boards – offers specialist employment support to help remove barriers to work, and includes community volunteering opportunities. See more at www.dacw.co.uk.

Packed Eirias launch for Cyfle Cymru

Cyfle Cymru

“Wonderful, talented, often funny, brilliant people waiting to blossom...”

CAIS CHIEF EXECUTIVE Clive Wolfendale believes seeing the success of the mutual aid and peer mentoring approach adopted by Cyfle Cymru in action has been one of the highlights of his career.

He said the forerunning Peer Mentoring Project – which ran between 2009 and 2014 and helped hundreds of people to improve their lives with the support of EU funding – became a cause very close to his heart.

“Very quickly it became something more than just another project – it was a very bespoke service, and the reason it became very special very quickly was because of the people who were involved,” the former North Wales deputy chief constable said.

“What they brought to the project was a level of commitment, of intelligence, and of creativity that made this something rather special.

“And, five years on, when I sit back and reflect on the time I’ve been with CAIS and the many years I spent with the police before that, without doubt – and I say this having had the privilege of being involved with some incredible

things – this was the best project of its type that I have been involved with.

“We were demonstrating to the community that these individuals, who had often been neglected, disparaged or ignored in society, can and have made a contribution. There are wonderful, talented, often funny, brilliant people waiting to blossom.”

He said the Peer Mentoring Project showed that when people were properly supported and given the right opportunities they could prove themselves, gain skills and find their way into work.

“It showed that people who had spent many years, sometimes decades, in the scourge of addiction can make it, can recover and make a contribution and can get things done,” Mr Wolfendale added at the launch.

“The real challenge is to ensure that this opportunity to create camaraderie, connections and a shared endeavour for people seeking a better life is allowed to carry on and allowed to prosper – but with our teams across Wales and alongside our partners in the room we can do it.”

Scenes from the event at Eirias Park, which featured our

peer mentors and partners

Backing for Wrexham’s Recovery in Action team SUPPORT FROM MEMBERS of the public helped the Champions’ House Recovery in Action team snare £2,500 in funding from the North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner’s Your Community Your Choice scheme.

The Wrexham clean-up crew was backed by a popular vote in the initiative, which uses cash reclaimed from criminals under proceeds of crime legislation to help support good causes.

CAIS deputy chief executive Lynn Bennoch and project manager Elen Richards collected a cheque from PCC Arfon Jones, deputy chief constable Gareth Pritchard, and chair of the North Wales Police and Community Trust David Williams at a presentation event at Glan-y-Don.

Late last year Recovery in Action — all members of recovery hub Champions’ House — worked alongside members of the community to clean graves, repaint iron gates, weed paving

stones and collect dozens of bags of rubbish in Rhosddu.

They are now planning a 2017 programme of works which will cover the centre of Wrexham, and have already received additional support from the Wrexham County Borough Council’s Together in Wrexham Fund.

Recovery in Action will work alongside local community groups to identify and clear areas which need a little tender loving care. Funding from the PCC and council will be used to buy new equipment and provide training for participants.

“The combination of fresh qualifications and practical work experience will give participants new skills and help more people into work,” Elen said. “We hope that, in time, Recovery in Action will become a fully-fledged social enterprise in its own right — focussed on employability, training, and improving the civic environment in the centre of Wrexham.”

PEOPLE WITH PERSONAL experience of mental health services are helping to recruit care and support staff — thanks to a new training scheme led by involvement and engagement body Caniad.

Posts at Hafal’s new Gellinudd recovery centre in Pontardawe, Wrexham’s Substance Misuse Service at The Elms, and the Ty Derbyn and Heddfan Units at Wrexham Maelor Hospital have all been filled with input from service users and carers.

Caniad has so-far delivered value-based interview training to 18 people, allowing them to assess the approach and attitudes of candidates and make recommendations to interview panels.

Service manager Denise Charles said more appointments would be made

with Caniad’s help in the weeks and months to come.

“We want to reinvigorate the way in which people who use mental health and substance misuse services can contribute to those services,’ she said. “Value-based interviewing allows

New appointments for Caniad interviewersmany people to have their say on the way the services they use are run for the very first time.

“Our approach allows participants to develop their own questions and deliver their own interview to assess a candidate’s values. These scores are then combined with a more traditional clinical interview to finalise recruitment.”

The initiative follows the launch of Caniad — a partnership between CAIS and Hafal — late last year.

The organisation’s involvement and engagement charter — pledging respect, fair play and proper consultation for people using services across North Wales — has already been signed by agencies including Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.

Staff Profile Introducing...

Sarah Patten Admissions Manager, Hafan Wen

they are, and a testament to the hard work and dedication of everyone involved.

When I am not thinking about occupancy, reassuring incoming admissions, or planning where in the UK I’ll be spreading the word next, I am mum to two amazing teenage children and the doting owner of two rescue cats and a very large Rottweiler who thinks she’s a lap dog!

I STARTED WORKING with CAIS in December 2016 as Admissions Manager at the Hafan Wen Treatment Unit in Wrexham. I’ve worked in the charity sector for many years in the fields of homelessness, substance misuse and mental health following a career as a social worker in statutory settings, as a practitioner in residential child care… and a variety of other settings prior to that.

I feel privileged to have joined such a dynamic, progressive and committed organisation and most especially to play my part in an individual’s recovery journey, facilitating admission for those using our detox and rehab facilities.

I am proud to be out and about sharing information about the work we do with commissioners, practitioners and service users — and want the units to be recognised as both the first-rate, quality providers of treatment services

98% of users felt safe during their detox at

Hafan Wen

97% of users felt comfortable during

their stay

91% valued the chance to share experiences

with volunteers

61% said their physical health improved while

at Hafan Wen

64% said their mental health improved while

at Hafan Wen

100% said their stay at Hafan Wen was

beneficial

Based on responses to Hafan Wen satisfaction questionnaire, Mar to Dec 2016, sample size c. 95

Satisfaction high at Hafan Wen THE CHANCE TO TALK with someone who has been through their own detox is one of the most valuable parts of the therapeutic programme at Wrexham’s Hafan Wen centre, it’s been revealed.

Questionnaires completed by users show how more than nine in 10 believe Hafan Wen’s peer volunteers were crucial to a successful detoxification.

The figures also reveal how patients improve their mental and physical health during their stay, how they value the centre’s nursing, medical and catering staff, and the benefits

of Hafan Wen’s programme of groups and activities.

The figures — collected during the nine months to the end of December — are based on responses to the Hafan Wen Satisfaction Questionnaire, which is offered to everyone leaving the unit.

CAIS director Geraint Jones said the success of the support offered at Hafan Wen was down to talented staff and volunteers. “Many of the responses show just how much people value the help they recieve from the great Hafan Wen team,” he said.

I have got myself back and now a life!

I would like to

thank every single

member of staff

Learn more at www.cais.co.uk/services/detox

VOLUNTEERS FROM Change Step have been thanked for their hard work after creating an oasis of peace in a hospital garden.

The team have worked to transform the outdoor areas at the Ablett Psychiatric Unit at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, sprucing up the garden, renovating furniture, and planting flowers and shrubs. They have also worked at the Hergest Unit at Ysbyty Gwynedd, and at Bryn y Neuadd Secure Unit in Llanfairfechan.

Stephen McCabe, BCUHB divisional health and safety lead and head of the garden project team, praised the “wonderful” transformation.

Modern matron Tracey Norcross said the ward was grateful for the hard work of Change Step volunteers.

“It looks good and is an asset to the unit, and also provides a therapeutic environment for patients,” she said.

“It’s a useable space which is somewhere quiet, where you can gather your thoughts.”

CHANGE STEP has taken to the big screen after securing premium advertising space in the centre of Cardiff.

Digital ads for the campaign will be displayed at the station and The Hayes and will urge members of the public to support the cause.

Estimates show the two sites have a reach of around a million people over the course of a two-week run.

The high-profile locations will help raise awareness and funds in support of Change Step thanks to the generous support of Disrupt Outdoor.

Thanks to green-fingered BCU garden volunteers

CHANGE STEP’S Digital Inclusion programme is amongst the nominees at the Wales Council for Voluntary Action’s annual awards in Cardiff later this month.

The ceremony – to be hosted by Sian Lloyd from BBC News – will recognise the most admired and most effective voluntary and third sector organisations in Wales.

Change Step is shortlisted for its work to boost digital inclusion amongst veterans throughout Wales.

Backed by the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards for All programme and sponsorship from BT, Change Step Digital Inclusion has worked with Digital Communities Wales to help veterans get online and give staff the skills they need to deliver effective peer mentoring using online tools. All staff and a number of volunteers have become accredited Digital Champions, delivering digital support on a one-to-one and group basis, using video and interactive training tutorials and self-help work groups.

Change Step fundraising manager Linzi Jones said: “Our digital drop-ins were set up to provide greater accessibility to our support services, but have rapidly expanded into a digital learning hub for staff and volunteers.”

Prestigious nomination for Change Step Digital Inclusion

Day Programme praise at showcase eventA CAIS RECOVERY PROJECT has been praised after helping more than 650 people tackle drug and alcohol addiction and substance misuse over the last six years.

Deputy Mayor of Colwyn Bay Cllr Jeff Pearson hailed the Conwy and Denbighshire Structured Day Programme after watching a group of members collect certificates at a special celebration event.

He was part of an invited audience which heard first-hand testimony from a string of participants, many of whom have gone on to work or further training after taking part in the initiative.

Tremendous work“The Day Programme – which helps people with their recovery, and boosts their sense of achievement and wellbeing – is doing tremendous work,” Cllr Pearson said.

“The awards which were presented today show the great achievements of the people who have been part of this programme, and who are now making a contribution to society.

“I was really so impressed by the hard work and dedication by both the people attending the course and the staff.”

Officials from the Welsh Government and North Wales Area Planning Board for Substance Misuse (APB) presented awards to participants who have completed formal qualifications offered as part of the scheme by Addysg Oedolion Cymru | Adult Learning Wales and Agored Cymru.

The event also saw the premiere of a new film examining attitudes to disability. The silent short Dancing in the Street was created by Day Programme participants during weekly creative media sessions hosted by TAPE Community Music and Film in Old Colwyn.

A total of 650 people have taken part in 12-week rolling programme – which is delivered by CAIS in Colwyn Bay, but open to people living across Conwy and Denbighshire – since it was launched in late 2010.

On average participants attend around 50 sessions, using them to help reduce their use of drugs and alcohol or maintain abstinence while developing new life and employability skills.

Gratitude and thanksCAIS chief executive Clive Wolfendale said the initiative enables people to continue their recovery from addiction and tackle their use of substances in a progressive and supportive environment.

“We would like to pass on the gratitude and thanks of CAIS, our partners, and of all the people who have used the Day Programme for the investment which has been made in this service,” he said.

Below: Day Programme participants, award-winners and guests are pictured with Cllr Jeff

Pearson (left) and Clive Wolfendale (right)

Key messages collected by users of Day Programme

were put on display alongside their work during

the event at Station Court

LATE LAST YEAR CAIS Social Enterprises, which also runs the Station Court meetings and events venue in Colwyn Bay and Troop Café community veterans’ hub in Llandudno, was named as one of the nation’s top social businesses at an awards ceremony at the Liberty Stadium in Swansea.

So far CSE has helped around 80 people build confidence, improve customer service skills, and pick up qualifications through a number of programmes offering practical learning and on-the-job experience.

You can contact our team by emailing [email protected], calling Noelle on 07810 202 822, or searching Porter’s Coffee Shop - Rhyl on Facebook. Don’t forget to ‘Like’ us to keep up with our offers, events and news!

CAIS SOCIAL ENTERPRISES is bringing an exciting catering training scheme to Denbighshire for the first time with the launch of At-Your-Service-2.

The programme offers paid supported employment, practical experience, accredited training, workshops and activities for people who are economically inactive or long-term unemployed and have been affected by work-limiting health conditions. It follows the success of the At-Your-Service

scheme, which has already given 18 people from the Conwy area the chance to pick up work, skills and confidence.

The new scheme is also open to people living in Denbighshire, and will be delivered at Porter’s Coffee Shop Rhyl as well as Porter’s Coffee Shop and Bistro in Colwyn Bay. Units include manual

handling, health and safety, food safety, emergency first aid, customer service and barista skills – all while working for 24 hours a week at the national living wage.

At-Your-Service-2 is supported by the European Social Fund through the Welsh Government as part of the Active Inclusion Fund managed by WCVA.Criteria apply. To find out more or arrange an informal interview, call Claire Jones on 07795 484 115, email [email protected] or visit the CAIS website at www.cais.co.uk.

Bringing fresh catering training to Denbighshire

COLWYN BAY FAVOURITE Porter’s Coffee Shop has brought its mix of cracking coffee, cakes and catering training to Rhyl with the opening of a brand new community café.

The latest venture from award-winning CAIS Social Enterprises, at Rhyl Library and One Stop Shop on Church Street, will offer rewarding volunteering opportunities and employability programmes – with all profits reinvested in schemes to benefit the community.

Porter’s Coffee Shop – Rhyl is already turning heads and winning loyal custom from library-goers and shoppers alike, as well as picking up positive reviews on social media. The outlet aims to replicate the high-end look and feel of its big brother in Colwyn Bay at a time when the Rhyl is set to benefit from large-scale regeneration.

Porter’s Rhyl will be officially opened by local Vale of Clwyd AM and deputy presiding officer of the Senedd Ann Jones later this year. Look out for our exciting offers!

Rattle of cups and saucers at brand new Rhyl Porter’s

USERS OF OUR Therapeutic Interventions

service in Wrexham and Flintshire

have starred in their own promotional

video designed to reduce the number

of people who fail to appear for their

appointments. The video – which

you can view on the CAIS website –

offers the perspectives of four people

who have benefitted from the service

and seeks to reduce any anxiety of

hesitancy on the part of a newcomer.

tinyurl.com/TIfilm

TRUSTEE LUCILLE Hughes has years

of experience in local government and

is committed to supporting training

nd professional service. Click here to

learn more about her background, or

visit tinyurl.com/boardLH

Meet the board

Therapeutic motivation

Noticeboard

DID YOU SEE Clive’s contribution to the debate over drugs policy before

Christmas? Click here to read more of the thoughts of our chief executive or visit

tinyurl.com/hhrzxua

CAIS Head Office12 Trinity Square, LlandudnoConwy, LL30 2RATel: 01492 863007

CAIS Ltd is a limited company registered in England and WalesRegistered Number: 2751104Charity Number: 1039386

Clive Wolfendale, Chief ExecutiveLynn Bennoch, Commercial Director (Deputy Chief Executive)Geraint Jones, Director Newsletter produced by James Williamson

Clive: No Comment

CAIS STAFF IN Wrexham and Colwyn Bay marked Save the Children’s annual Christmas Jumper Day with lots of a festive treats and fun.Bake sales were held at both Champions’ House and the DAWN Centre, with tasty treats on offer in support of Hope House.

GAMBLING ADDICTION initiative Beat the Odds, led by Living Room Cardiff, has launched the Flutter Free February campaign — designed to encourage people to challenge their online, lottery, scratchcard, bookie and bingo habits.Living Room chief executive Wynford Ellis Owen said excessive gambling had led to debt, lifestyle problems, mental illness and family breakdown, with the £1.6 billion staked on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals in Wales alone a particular worry. Backed by leading academics, Beat the Odds is challenging people to make a pledge to stop gambling during February, and share a thumbs-up selfie with the #flutterfreefeb hashtag in support of the campaign. Find out more at www.flutterfree.com.

Flutter Free February

Thumbs up for

Christmas jumper fun!

‘THE NEED TO flee

from oneself’ was

the theme of a conference hosted

by Cynnal, the churches’ counselling

service.

Speakers from a wide

range of denominations

gathered in Carmarthen

for the event, which

discussed how faith

bodies can respond to

negative behaviours

borne out of a lack of

meaning, prejudice,

hatred and intolerance.

Speakers included

Canon Aled Edwards,

Elfed Ap Nefydd

Roberts, Sean Loughlin,

Denzil John, Aled Jones

Williams, Karen Owen

and Catrin Williams.

Wynford Ellis Owen,

chief executive of Living

Room Cardiff, said

the event – which was

backed by the retiring

Archbishop of Wales, Dr

Barry Morgan – gave

churches the chance to

consider how to offer

guidance and recovery.

conference